I Miss You
by 8ounce
Summary: Staff Sergeant Stacie Conrad's relationship with Aubrey Posen. (I re-uploaded this because I screwed the order of the chapters. Sorry.)
1. Chapter 1

_ Clink._ Aubrey wiped another glass dry and set it down with the others, stifling a yawn. She was working the night shift in the understaffed bar, a part-time job to help pay for tuition. With both her parents gone it was tough, but she was determined to get her Bachelor of Music. It was tough, what with juggling rehearsals and practice time and her job, but she was slowly and steadily working towards a piano performance major. She combed a hand through her straight, blonde hair and glanced at the clock. Half an hour and she'd be on her way home. Suddenly, the door opened, and two brunettes walked in. Aubrey sighed to herself, she'd been hoping for a quiet rest of the night.

"Hi, can I get you anything?" Aubrey smiled at the two girls as they sat down in front of the bar.

"Yeah, just two pints of Guinness." The tall one grinned at the blonde as the short one nodded in agreement.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Aubrey asked as she pulled the pints from the tap. She set the beers in front of the girls and looked at them. "I don't remember seeing you here before."

"Nah, we just don't get to come around often." The tall brunette took a sip from the glass in front of her.

"We got shipped over here for training a couple of months ago." The shorter one explained. "I'm Beca, by the way." She held out her hand for Aubrey to shake. The blonde took it, nodding in understanding.

"I'm Stacie. Excuse me, I should've introduced myself earlier." The taller one held out her hand for Aubrey to shake.

"Oh, well I'm Aubrey. Yeah we get a lot of you guys in here." The blonde wiped the counter with a rag as she talked.

"Yeah, Beca needed 'real beer'. Whatever the hell that means." Stacie chuckled, as Beca grinned unabashedly and set down her empty glass.

"Yeah, and Stacie's paying." The shorter brunette got up as Stacie glared at her. "Nice meeting you, Aubrey."

"Nice to meet you too."

"I'll be right out, Bec. Since I got stuck with the tab." Stacie rolled her eyes as she finished off her own beer. She pulled out her wallet.

"No, it's fine. I got it." The blonde placed her hand gently on the brunette's forearm. "It's on me."

"Really? I don't want to put you out..." Stacie's brow furrowed.

"It's nothing. Consider it thanks for your service." Aubrey smiled softly, picking up the empty glasses.

"Well at least let me take you out on a date or something." Stacie grinned, seizing an opportunity.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were taking advantage of my kindness, Stacie." Aubrey said, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Taking advantage? Nahhh, I'm offering you the opportunity of a lifetime." The brunette's green eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Well, okay then. If you put it that way, how can I say no?" Aubrey teased, leaning backwards against the back counter. Stacie handed the blonde her phone.

"Better put in your phone number and address so I can make good of that promise."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow, I'm stuffed. How did you know I love Italian?" Aubrey asked, as they strolled down the street the following week. The sky was clear, and stars sparkled above as they walked.

"Wild guess. I was hoping you'd love it." Stacie grinned, reaching for the blonde's hand.

"Smooth." Aubrey giggled as the brunette interlocked their fingers.

"I know." She grinned back confidently. They fell into a comfortable silence as they wandered easily down the street. The blonde blushed as Stacie unconsciously traced patterns softly across the top of her hand. Before she knew it they were back at Aubrey's apartment.

"Would you...like to come in for coffee?" The pianist asked hesitantly, still grasping Stacie's hand.

"I'd love to."

"So what do you do?" Stacie asked, as they sat comfortably on Aubrey's couch. The blonde drank some coffee before answering.

"I'm a student."

"Oh? What're you studying?" Stacie asked, gazing at the blonde.

"I study music. I'm a piano performance major. Fourth year." The blonde looked into her coffee and braced herself for ridicule.

"Wow. That's amazing." Aubrey's head snapped up as she looked at the brunette, shock clearly written on her face. "What?"

"Wait, you're okay with this?"

"Of course I'm okay with this. I don't really think I have a right not to be okay with this..." Stacie looked curiously at the blonde. "So far, I like everything about you."

"Wow." The blonde breathed, her eyes full of wonder.

"Wow, indeed." The brunette murmured as she brushed her lips softly against Aubrey's.


	3. Chapter 3

As the relationship developed, Stacie and Aubrey spent more and more time together, with Stacie spending every moment she could at Aubrey's place. The brunette would sit and listen as the pianist penned pieces, or even spend time with her when she was writing papers.

"I'm sorry we haven't been doing anything exciting recently, babe." Aubrey murmured as she leaned against the brunette, typing on her laptop.

"I love what we're doing now. I like the peace." Stacie hummed against the blonde's temple. "I won't always have this." Her voice trailed away, as she silently berated herself for bringing up the topic. The blonde set down her laptop and turned to face the soldier.

"...what?" She whispered, grasping the brunette's hands.

"I'm being deployed next week, babe. I'm so sorry." Stacie looked away, hiding her pain from the blonde. Warm arms engulfed her waist as Aubrey held her.

"We knew it'd happen, Stace." The pianist murmured, comforting the brunette.

"I know. Doesn't make it any easier." The brunette sighed, stroking her hands through blonde locks. The blonde reached over to close her laptop.

"C'mon. If we've got a week left we better make the most of it." Aubrey curled her feet under

her and snuggled up next to the soldier.


	4. Chapter 4

Before either of them knew it, the time had come for Stacie to be deployed. The day she was scheduled to leave, Aubrey got a knock on her door. She opened it to see her girlfriend, in full uniform.

"Hey, Bree." The brunette smiled sadly at her, placing a hand against her cheek.

"Hey, babe. Time for you to get going?" The blonde linked her hands behind the soldier's neck.

"Yep." Stacie gently wiped away a tear that had slipped down Aubrey's face.

"Promise me something." The blonde whispered, leaning their foreheads together.

"Anything."

"Promise me you'll do everything you can to come back to me, Staff Sergeant Conrad." The blonde sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I promise." Stacie brushed her lips against Aubrey's, and kissed away the tears.

"Bring Beca back too. Don't let her think for a moment that I don't know she's dating Chloe. Chloe's a good friend of mine." Aubrey gave a wavering smile.

"I will. I love you, babe. So much." The brunette placed both hands on either side of the blonde's face.

"I love you too. I'll be waiting." Aubrey watched as the Marine walked away from her. She'd be without her for seven months. As she closed the door she collapsed to the floor, sobbing hysterically. The pain she felt at saying goodbye was as acute as that of being stabbed through the heart. How she would handle this for 7 months, she had no idea.


	5. Chapter 5

She spent the summer without Stacie. It was horrible and painful and sad but she found ways to occupy herself, to not think about how happy she would've been spending her time off from school with her girlfriend. Five months had passed and the pain still wouldn't go away. She video chatted with the brunette regularly but it was nowhere close to having Stacie in her arms. And even though five months had passed she still found herself waking up from nightmares and crying herself to sleep. She missed Stacie like she missed a limb; she didn't function properly without the soldier. And as September rolled around she told herself she needed to be strong, to get through one more month. That Stacie would be back before she knew it. She was wrong.

"They put my team in for another month." Stacie said, her voice crackling over the internet connection.

"What? Oh, babe..." Aubrey sighed, resting her chin in her hand. She had been so strong, counting down the days she'd have to power through.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I miss you so much." Stacie's desperation showed in her eyes; she didn't even try to hide it. The Marine was tired, and her girlfriend could see it.

"Hey Stacie! How's it going?" Beca popped in to view, waving enthusiastically at the blonde.

"You know, same old, same old. I hear Chloe's really missing you, Sergeant Mitchell." Aubrey grinned mischievously at the brunette.

"Ahh, you know, gotta keep her wanting more." The brunette winked. "I miss you guys a lot." The girl sobered up.

"Yeah, I miss you too, Mitchell." Aubrey smiled softly at the screen.

"Oh my god, is my sergeant going soft on me?" Stacie gave her a look of mock disgust.

"Definitely not, Staff Sergeant, m'am!" Beca mock saluted her.

"Better not, or you'll be doing push-ups 'til you're dead." Stacie narrowed her eyes.

"Chloe's not complaining about the amount of push-ups I do." The smaller brunette winked lasciviously at her superior while flexing her biceps.

"Get out of here." Stacie chuckled, as she shoved Beca out of frame. "Anyway, I gotta supervise some tactical training. I'll see you soon, babe. Love you." She smiled lovingly at the camera.

"I love you too. Come back to me." Aubrey murmured, as Stacie signed off. She leaned back into her chair and sighed, pressing the palms of her hands to her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She'd hold it together for two more months.


	6. Chapter 6

November crept around the corner, and Aubrey woke up one morning to find that she'd be picking up Stacie tomorrow. She had made it through her girlfriend's first tour. In order to conserve every minute they had together, the blonde had already bought her girlfriend's Christmas present, and she spent the rest of her Saturday cleaning the house and moving her stuff in order to accommodate Stacie. They had agreed that it would make more sense for the soldier to live with her, as Beca would be living with Chloe. Aubrey and Chloe had become closer in the wake of the deployment, and they were going to pick up Beca and Stacie at the airport tomorrow.

The next morning, Aubrey put on Stacie's favourite dress and made sure everything was perfect. She had done all the prep work and the two soldiers and Chloe would be coming over for dinner tonight. She took one last look before walking out the door and drove over to Chloe's place to pick her up.

"Hey! Come in! You're early. We can have some coffee before we get to the airport." Chloe engulfed her in a hug and ushered her inside.

"Ugh. I'm so excited it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever felt so giddy in my life." Aubrey giggled, accepting a cup of coffee from the redhead.

"Yeah, I remember that feeling from Beca's first tour. When I saw her I thought my heart would explode from excitement. I still get that feeling, every time I see her walk towards me in that uniform." Chloe sighed happily, sipping her coffee. She grinned at the blonde. "Beca keeps talking about how she never thought Stacie was capable of falling in love so fast."

"I can hardly believe it myself. I've never been so smitten so fast in my life." Aubrey laughed, love shining in her eyes. "Stacie talks about you guys too."

"Yeah, it's been a tough couple of years, but it makes seeing her again that much sweeter." Chloe laughed, rinsing out the cups and grabbing her keys.


	7. Chapter 7

"There they are!" Chloe squealed, as she spotted the two uniform-clad soldiers walking towards them. Aubrey's breath caught in her throat as she saw Stacie, and she broke into a run towards her. The blonde lost sight of everyone around her as she jumped into the brunette's arms, tears streaming down her face as she was overwhelmed by the emotions she'd kept in check the past 8 months. Stacie immediately dropped her bag and caught her, swinging her around as she laughed, elation breaking out on her face as she finally held her girlfriend for the first time in 8 months. The blonde kissed her again and again and again as she was being held in Stacie's arms.

"I. Missed. You. So. Much." Kisses punctuated each word that Aubrey uttered, tears still streaming down her face. Stacie put her down and gave her a once-over, eyeing her critically.

"You haven't been eating." The brunette narrowed her eyes. "I can feel your ribs." The blonde looked down at her feet. "Aubrey, why?"

"I've been stressed. Midterms." The blonde looked up sadly. "And it's been hard."

"Oh, babe." Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey. "You gotta take care of yourself."

"Hey you guys wanna go get a burger?" Beca called, from where she was sitting with Chloe in her lap. The redhead still had her face buried in the smaller girl's neck.

"Yeah, let's do that."


	8. Chapter 8

"Ugh. Home sweet home at last." Stacie groaned as she dropped her bag beside the door and unlaced her boots.

"Go take a shower, babe. Chloe and Beca are coming over for dinner tonight." Aubrey smiled and pecked the brunette softly on the lips.

"You don't need to tell me twice. I am _so_ in need of a hot shower." The soldier shuffled into the bathroom, grabbing some clothes to change into. Aubrey changed into a tank top and sweatpants and started getting dinner ready.

"Mmm...smells good." Stacie came up behind the pianist and wrapped her arms around her. Aubrey jumped and let out a small squeak of surprise. The brunette placed kisses on the side of her girlfriend's neck.

"No, Stace I gotta finish this..." The rest of the blonde's protest became a purr of satisfaction as the brunette dropped a kiss right behind her ear.

"Sorry, you gotta finish what? I didn't quite hear that." Stacie grinned as she kissed her way down Aubrey's neck again.

"That's not...f-f-ff-fair..." The blonde's breathing became uneven as the brunette's tongue played with her collarbone. Suddenly, Aubrey pulled away. "No. Bad Stacie. I need to finish the potatoes, babe. They'll be over any minute!" The blonde playfully slapped her girlfriend's hands away. "Make yourself useful and set the table."

"Okay, fine. If Beca were here I'd never hear the end of it." Stacie put on a falsetto voice that sounded nothing like Beca. "Stacie's so whipped. Oh my god, Stacie's so in love. Oh my god, Stacie's going soft." The blonde grinned to herself as she set the mashed potatoes to the side. She linked her arms behind the brunette's neck.

"It's only because you love me so much." She mumbled against Stacie's lips.

"Mmmm...that's true." The brunette murmured between kisses. They were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Oh, that's gotta be them." Aubrey gasped, pulling away. "Could you get the door, babe?"

"Sure. Don't worry, Bree, everything's gonna taste fantastic. You made pot roast, for crying out loud. Nothing could go wrong." Stacie grinned as she pecked the blonde on the cheek. The pianist giggled and brought out the salad and the wine.

"Hey! Long time no see. Like...4 hours, Staff Sergeant. I miss you." Beca said, as Stacie opened the door.

"Shut up, Beca." The tall brunette grinned, shoving the other girl. "Hey Chloe, so nice to see you again. Come on in, Bree's driving herself crazy trying to get everything right."

"Ah, Bree. Always the perfect one." Beca grinned as she toed off her sneakers and followed Chloe into the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

"Aw, Bree, this roast is _amazing_." Beca gushed, as she dug into her plate.

"Yeah, babe. This is _so good_." Stacie said thickly, around a mouthful of meat.

"You've outdone yourself, Bree." Chloe grinned, starting on her potatoes.

"Well, I'm glad you like it. It's the least I can do, hearing about the stuff you've been eating." Aubrey smiled, blushing at the compliments. They finished dinner while Beca and Stacie told them hilarious stories of their tour.

"Well, we've imposed on you long enough. We should get going." Chloe stood as they finished their coffee. Beca smiled, standing as well.

"Yeah, thanks so much for everything. The food was divine. You gotta teach Chloe how to make that chocolate cake, Bree."

"Yeah, and my girlfriend needs to stop thinking about food for more than two minutes at a time." Chloe grinned, grabbing Beca's hand.

"Thanks so much for coming over!" Stacie smiled, as she let them out. She walked back into the kitchen, hearing Aubrey clean up. "Hey. What do you say we put those in the dishwasher and get to bed?"

"Sounds good." Aubrey said quietly, smiling softly at the soldier.


	10. Chapter 10

"Talk to me." Aubrey murmured as she rested her head on Stacie's chest, feeling the rhythmic heartbeat against her ear.

"What's there to talk about?" Stacie chuckled, wrapping her arms around the blonde.

"Something happened, Stace. I just...I wanna be here for you." Aubrey said, unsure whether or not she was overstepping. There was a long silence before anyone spoke.

"Brian." Stacie choked out, past the lump in her throat. Past the pain in her heart.

"What happened to Brian, babe?" Aubrey rubbed comforting circles on the brunette's abdomen.

"We were supposed to raid a...building. I saw the tangos. I marked them. But one of them shot me. And Brian...he tried to drag me out of the action. I saw him fall, and I couldn't do anything about it. I've never felt so helpless in my life." The brunette sobbed. Aubrey sat up and held her hysterical girlfriend, whispering soothing words into her ear.

"Brian saved you. He doesn't want you to worry about repaying his debt for the rest of your life. He doesn't want you to think you've made a mistake. Brian gave his life so that you could live yours. And be happy." Aubrey murmured, clutching the brunette to her.

It became a ritual. Every tour, when Stacie would come home, they'd talk. Aubrey would hold her, and they would just talk. In bed, Stacie was safe. She was away from those who wanted to kill her, or to kill what she fought for. And Aubrey provided solace in her arms, and warded off the brunette's demons to the best of her abilities. Whenever Stacie woke up from a nightmare, in cold sweat and crying, Aubrey was right there beside her to soothe her, to ease her pain. It was because of those moments that Staff Sergeant Conrad realized that it didn't matter where she went, or who she fought, or what she did. Aubrey would be waiting for her, waiting to try and ease the pain. And that's why she missed her when she left. But that's also why she loved her.


End file.
